Last Friday, we had a small tornado touch down in our area. The wind and lightning were so bad, they woke me up at 3 a.m. I looked out the deck window and the rain was horizontal from the North. My front door window, covered by five feet of roof, was getting pummeled by rain. That has never happened.

In the morning, I checked to see the damage. The plants that are normally spilling over the front of the large containers were blown up over the plants standing in the back like an apron over Grandma’s head. The wind blew so hard, the lounge folded over—and it’s cast aluminum! I walked the yard and everything seemed to be fine. Nothing blown over. There were uprooted trees in the neighborhood that Paula and I noticed as she took me to the airport. We escaped. Or so we thought.

We never looked up in the back yard. Ever see the commercial where an older sibling takes the hair-trimming shears and cuts a path down the center of his little brother’s head? That’s what our locust tree looks like; a big branch in the center broke. How we didn’t notice that for three days is beyond me.

What’s the relation to our health? We don’t check our bodies enough. Where did that freckle come from? But it isn’t a freckle. I’m really out of shape! Except that shortness of breath isn’t really happening because you’re out of shape.

We’ve got to pay attention to our bodies, folks. They’re speaking to us all the time. Stop ignoring what they tell you and get things checked out; better to deal with it earlier rather than when it’s a serious problem. You don’t need a tornado to hit your life.

What are you prepared to do today?

Dr. Chet